Soundwalk Reflection

This afternoon, I went on a short 'soundwalk.' I wandered through a relatively quiet neighborhood, focusing exclusively on the sounds. What I came up with is not the half of what is possible in a more eclectic sound environment, but it is interesting nonetheless.

First of all, some of the locations were overwhelming in terms of sound. The most common noise was the sound of car tires rolling over the concrete, coupled with the rumbling engines of larger vehicles, like buses and trucks. But even on the loudest part of my walk, I could still pick out various other noises, the most significant being an airplane. Several, in fact. Each plane made a different noise though. One was rather high pitched and probably a private jet. The others made a low rumble and were most likely large commercial planes.

The quiet part of the neighborhood was the most interesting. Here I was able to hear things close-up and far away, and I was able to distinguish recognizable sounds from noises that were unfamiliar. The most common sound on this part of my walk was the rustling of leaves, caused by the wind, a sort of continual, soft hiss. From the same direction came the whistling of birds, although this was far less frequent, and much more variant. Also present for most of the walk was the signature high-pitched drone of the cicada.

Other highlights included soft, melodic wind chimes in the distance, the buzzing and whining of an electric saw, and church bells chiming at various pitches, not quite making a song, but creating an eerie free form harmony. Some sounds were very far away and barely audible, such as a child playfully yelling, or the random echo of a barking dog.

I found it distracting to be walking with a large group. By myself, I would've been able to control my footsteps and volume of breathing to make my presence barely audible, but when you add ten or fifteen other people to the equation, you get a clunking, panting mob that upsets the delicate balance of a quiet sound environment.

This was a good experience, even if it wasn't the most interesting soundwalk. It was helpful to practice isolating noises and describing them, one by one, in an environment that contains thousands. Hearing is the one sense that we don't seem to have any natural control over. You can close your eyes, you can refrain from smelling, you can move to avoid feeling something, but without ear plugs, you are forced to hear whatever is making noise in your immediate environment. This soundwalk has demonstrated that while I cannot 'close' my ears, I can purposely focus on one sound, even when there are thousands to choose from.